5

The next morning, inside the court, James and his wife, Alisha were about to get divorced officially.

Kate was at the court, too. In fact, she was the first person to come to the court that morning. She wanted to make sure that Alisha divorced James once and for all and for good.

She had invited her friends and all the people in the family who despised James so much. Alisha wasn't in support of it.

"Is this your disgusting son-in-law?" Her friends asked her.

"Oh, point of correction, he's not my son-in-law anymore." Kate snapped.

"HAHAHAHA!" They all laughed maliciously.

"I can't believe you put up with him for so long."

"He's nothing but filthy."

"Filthy? That's an understatement. He's a disgrace."

James overheard their insult, but he kept a straight face which pissed them off the more.

When the judge finally arrived, they all kept mute and waited for the proceedings.

The judge was a quiet woman who did the proceedings without delay. She asked them.

"Why do you two beautiful couples want to get divorced?"

James wanted to pour his anger out and tell her that his wife is a whore who cares only about money and that she has found someone else who is richer than he is. But instead, he said…

"Nothing, Ma'am. It's just that we found out that we are not compatible anymore."

Alisha was surprised, he never mentioned anything about her cheating scandal or about how her family maltreated him.

"But you two could still work it out together…," the judge said with pity in her eyes but was cut short from her sentence by Kate.

"Do your job as a judge and divorce them and stop interfering in the matter," she shouted at the judge, with disdain in her eyes.

Everyone in the court stopped whatever they were doing and stared at her but she didn't care.

"Who is this woman and why is she being so loud-mouthed," someone in the crowd said.

"She has no respect for the court! This is outrageous," another person added.

"Can't believe the audacity of some people."

"Shut up! Fools!" Kate was ready to fight them.

But they continued to criticize her awful behavior.

"Disgraceful woman. This is no place for such drama."

"Is she trying to showcase her ignorance or what?"

"Someone needs to put her in place. Unbelievable!"

"Order! Order!" The court clerks tried to stop the rising commotion, but more people continued to express their disgust at Kate.

"This woman clearly has no manners."

"I've never seen such insolence in a courtroom."

"This is a place for justice, not for lunatics."

"What a disgrace to her family and herself."

"Mom! Please stop embarrassing us here," Alisha whispered with shame to her mom.

James tried so much to suppress the laughter in his mind. He knew Kate very well, she was ready to disgrace herself in the presence of everyone.

The judge did not react, instead, she gave Kate a hard look and continued with her proceeding.

After the divorce, as James was walking out of the courtroom Alisha approached him.

"James," she called out from behind. "A moment please."

James didn't stop. He continued walking towards the gate but on second thought he decided to hear what she wanted to say.

He thought if he snubbed her now a lot of people would think that he's angry because he got divorced by a woman.

He stopped and turned to face her with a smile plastered on his face.

"What is it, Alisha, the soon-to-be bride," James said sarcastically.

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"I thought by now you are having a honeymoon?"

James mocked her that why didn’t she get married to Jaxon immediately after divorcing him.

She felt ashamed and her face turned red.

"Stop it!" She screamed with a red face.

"Alright, then. What is it?"

"Follow me."

They both entered her car and she drove off.

She drove James to a rural area and then stopped the car.

Alisha sighed, her voice trembling with regret as she spoke, "Look, James, I'm so sorry for everything that's happened. Please, take this debit card. It has some money on it. You need to leave town as soon as possible. Jaxon, my fiancée, he's furious. He'll want revenge."

James glanced at the debit card but shook his head firmly. "Alisha, I appreciate the offer, but I don't accept gifts from whores. And by the way, I'm not leaving Emerald Falls because of some spoiled little brat who thinks he could buy everything with money."

Alisha's eyes welled up with tears, and she gripped the steering wheel tightly. "You don't understand, James. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Please, reconsider."

No matter how James tried to stimulate Alisha with mocking words and tone, she didn’t get angry because she only wanted to redeem herself.

She knew she would still make the same choice by choosing Jaxon over and over again. Because power and money are her ultimate pursuit.

'After all, I didn't kill anyone. I'm not a bad woman, why is he acting strong-headed anyway,' she thought.

As James opened the car door, Alisha's trembling voice stopped him in his tracks. "Wait, James, please," she implored.

James turned to face her. He was puzzled by her sudden request. "What is it again, Alisha?" He asked angrily this time.

Alisha was filled with desperation and regret.

"James, I know I've hurt you deeply, and I can never make up for it. But before you go, just this one last time, please make love to me. If you hate me, you can do anything you want. You can even treat me like a slave, just for this one last time. Please, James, I don't want you to stay and face Jaxon's revenge."

James was taken aback by her sudden request. His emotions were in turmoil.

However, her words made him despise her even more, thinking she was a dirty woman. 'What does she take me for? A s*x toy?' he thought to himself.

"What do you take me for?" He scowled. "You think this changes anything, Alisha? You've already betrayed me in the worst way possible."

Alisha's voice quivered as she continued, "I don't expect it to change anything, James. I just... I can't bear the thought of you leaving and facing Jaxon's anger. If this is what it takes to make you stay safe, I'm willing."

James' anger calmed as he gazed into her eyes, seeing the vulnerability he once knew so well. But he knew that their love had already been shattered beyond repair.

Alisha pleaded even further, "James, please listen to me. I never betrayed you in my heart."

James shook his head in disbelief. "It doesn't matter anymore."

She leaned in, attempting to kiss him, but he pushed her away gently yet firmly.

Whether she had betrayed him or not physically, she had betrayed him mentally.

"No, Alisha. We're beyond that now," James said, his voice heavy with resignation.

"Please!" Alisha's voice wavered, but she was resolute, "Please, James, it's the least I can do to make up for what I've done. I know you hate me so much now and I don't want you to see me as a bad person."

"Alisha, you don't have to do this. I don't hate you, but this won't change anything. You made your choice, so stick to it." He said and got out of her car.

With tears streaming down her face, Alisha watched James as he got out of the car and walked away.

She knew that she had lost a good man forever but she can't go back now.